Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

wait

[weyt]
See more synonyms for wait on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object)
  1. to remain inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens (often followed by for, till, or until): to wait for the bus to arrive.
  2. (of things) to be available or in readiness: A letter is waiting for you.
  3. to remain neglected for a time: a matter that can wait.
  4. to postpone or delay something or to be postponed or delayed: We waited a week and then bought the house. Your vacation will have to wait until next month.
  5. to look forward to eagerly: I'm just waiting for the day somebody knocks him down.
Show More
verb (used with object)
  1. to continue as one is in expectation of; await: to wait one's turn at a telephone booth.
  2. to postpone or delay in expectation: Don't wait supper for me.
  3. Archaic. (of things) to be in readiness for; be reserved for; await: Glory waits thee.
  4. Archaic. to attend upon or escort, especially as a sign of respect.
Show More
noun
  1. an act or instance of waiting or awaiting; delay; halt: a wait at the border.
  2. a period or interval of waiting: There will be a long wait between trains.
  3. Theater.
    1. the time between two acts, scenes, or the like.
    2. stage wait.
  4. British.
    1. waits,(formerly) a band of musicians employed by a city or town to play music in parades, for official functions, etc.
    2. a street musician, especially a singer.
    3. one of a band of carolers.
    4. a piece sung by carolers, especially a Christmas carol.
  5. Obsolete. a watchman.
Show More
Verb Phrases
  1. wait on,
    1. to perform the duties of an attendant or servant for.
    2. to supply the wants of a person, as serving a meal or serving a customer in a store.
    3. to call upon or visit (a person, especially a superior): to wait on Her Majesty at the palace.
    4. Falconry.(of a hawk) to soar over ground until prey appears.
    5. Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S.to wait for (a person); await.
    6. Also wait upon.to await (an event).
  2. wait up,
    1. to postpone going to bed to await someone's arrival.
    2. Informal.to halt and wait for another to join one, as in running or walking: Wait up, I can't walk so fast.
Show More
Idioms
  1. lie in wait, to wait in ambush: The army lay in wait in the forest.
  2. wait table. table(def 26).
Show More

Origin of wait

1150–1200; (v.) early Middle English waiten < Anglo-French waitier; Old French guaitier < Germanic; cognate with Old High German wahtēn to watch, derivative of wahta a watch (see wake1); (noun) late Middle English < AF derivative of waitier
Can be confusedwait weight

Synonyms

See more synonyms for wait on Thesaurus.com
1. await, linger, abide, delay. Wait, tarry imply pausing to linger and thereby putting off further activity until later. Wait usually implies staying for a limited time and for a definite purpose, that is, for something expected: to wait for a train. Tarry is a somewhat archaic word for wait, but it suggests lingering, perhaps aimlessly delaying, or pausing (briefly) in a journey: to tarry on the way home; to tarry overnight at an inn.

Usage note

15e, f. Sometimes considered objectionable in standard usage, the idiom wait on meaning “to wait for, to await (a person)” is largely confined to speech or written representations of speech. It is most common in the Midland and Southern United States: Let's not wait on Rachel, she's always late. Wait on or upon (an event) does not have a regional pattern and occurs in a wide variety of contexts: We will wait on (or upon ) his answer and make our decision then. The completion of the merger waits upon news of a drop in interest rates.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for wait

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Yet the great lady is not careless of engagements, and the wait is never prolonged.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • Where is he, I wonder, and how long have I got to wait for him?

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • The lawyer left them at the next station to wait for a train back to Butte.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • And Dennet,” Stephen added with a short laugh, “she could not wait for you.

    The Armourer's Prentices

    Charlotte M. Yonge

  • You wait a little, and hear Uncle Peter take back what he's said about me.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for wait

wait

verb
  1. (when intr, often foll by for, until, or to) to stay in one place or remain inactive in expectation (of something); hold oneself in readiness (for something)
  2. to delay temporarily or be temporarily delayedthat work can wait
  3. (when intr, usually foll by for) (of things) to be in store (for a person)success waits for you in your new job
  4. (intr) to act as a waiter or waitress
Show More
noun
  1. the act or an instance of waiting
  2. a period of waiting
  3. (plural) rare a band of musicians who go around the streets, esp at Christmas, singing and playing carols
  4. an interlude or interval between two acts or scenes in a play, etc
  5. lie in wait to prepare an ambush (for someone)
Show More
See also wait on, wait up

Word Origin

C12: from Old French waitier; related to Old High German wahtēn to wake 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wait

v.

c.1200, "to watch with hostile intent, lie in wait for," from Old North French waitier "to watch" (Old French gaitier, Modern French guetter), from Frankish *wahton (cf. Dutch wacht "a watching," Old High German wahten, German wachten "to watch, to guard;" Old High German wahhon "to watch, be awake," Old English wacian "to be awake;" see wake (v.)). General sense of "remain in some place" is from late 14c.; that of "to see to it that something occurs" is late 14c. Meaning "to stand by in attendance on" is late 14c.; specific sense of "serve as an attendant at a table" is from 1560s. Related: Waited; waiting.

To wait (something) out "endure a period of waiting" is recorded from 1909, originally American English, in reference to baseball batters trying to draw a base on balls. Waiting game is recorded from 1890. Waiting room is attested from 1680s. Waiting list is recorded from 1897; the verb wait-list "to put (someone) on a waiting list" is recorded from 1960.

Show More

n.

early 13c., "a watcher, onlooker," from Old North French wait, Old French gaite, from gaitier (see wait (v.)). From late 14c. as "an ambush, a trap" (as in lie in wait).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with wait

wait

In addition to the idioms beginning with wait

  • wait a minute
  • wait and see
  • wait at table
  • wait for the other shoe to drop
  • waiting game
  • waiting in the wings
  • wait on
  • wait on hand and foot
  • wait out
  • wait up

also see:

  • can't wait
  • hurry up and wait
  • in waiting
  • lie in wait
  • play a waiting game
Show More
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.